With the exit of our friend Gert Hildebrand MINI is entering a new era. While MINI Design under the leadership of Gert was more than successful in expanding the range and building the brand, we can’t help but think this is a good move for both parties.

The timing couldn’t be better for Anders Warming as well. Anders is coming off of the successful debut of three concepts he oversaw; the 6 Series coupe, four door coupe and the production 6 Series convertible. Beyond that Anders has overseen the most recent Z4, 5 series and X3. And he leaves BMW just as he was finishing up work on the next generation 3 Series. continued →

While the full WRC debut is scheduled for Italy later this year, The Countryman JCW did make it’s official debut at a WRC event in the PWRC category at Vodafone Rally de Portugal. The honors went to the privateer Arminda Araujo in a S2000 spec Countryman WRC. How did it go? Read on for MINI’s official account:

Official Release: Dani Sordo and Kris Meeke had wished Armindo Araujo all the best shortly before the start of this first WRC race. When the 2010 PWRC champion was heading towards the top five in the overall classifications at the end of day one of the Rally de Portugal, even the more experienced members of the MINI WRC Team could scarcely believe their eyes and had their fingers firmly crossed for Armindo. continued →

A new video from MINI worldwide that’s one part music video, one part art project, one part commercial. Featuring lots of stop motion and other fun artistic juxtapositions, this video even gives us a glimpse of the new MINI Clubman Hampton Edition. Going model by model, the video definitely has an international flavor as we see MINIs zipping around the city, the desert, the mountains, the track and everywhere in between.

Autoblog is sharing some spy shots of what at first glance appears to simply be a regular R56 driving around on the snow in Sweden. Looking closer, there’s a tell-tale sign that this is indeed a hybrid electric MINI prototype. It’s literally a yellow sign on the window that reads “HYBRID”. Autoblog is also reporting that the system being tested is actually an AWD system where the front wheels are driven normally using stock drivetrain and electric motors drive the rear wheels for power assist. This approach is not dissimilar to the BMW Efficient Dynamics hybrid system seen in the photo above. If this is the case, it holds some key engineering advantages. continued →

We got an email from the clever folks who created the the BMW Documentaries series Wherever You Want to Go. They’ve asked MotoringFile and BimmerFile to submit questions for the experts featured in the film. The answers to some of these questions will be featured as part of an extension to the documentary. These experts include:

Graham Hill, from Treehugger
Robin Chase, from ZipCar
Way Cheng, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
George Whitesides, from Virgin Galactic

What they’re looking for are questions surrounding the issues brought up in the documentary so far. Mobility, sustainability, technology, etc. The comments will be open until Monday, April 11th. So if you’ve ever wanted to pick the brains of some rather clever transportation experts, now’s your chance. If you missed the excerpts, we’ve embedded them after the break. Have a look and give us your questions in the comments. continued →

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